[well, I stand corrected - I got this book about 180 degrees wrong. Mainly, I was thrown by Redfern's writing tone, which I now recognize as, very likely, tongue-in-cheek. This is one book I'll be purchasing! I yet can't speak to the validity of the research, but I can say this - having done some work on fringe evangelical belief in the United States Military, in my opinion the topic area is quite a valid area of inquiry.]

Here's a description of Nick Redfern's new book Final Events -

Final Events, by Nick Redfern, discloses his interviews with Ray Boeche (an Anglican priest and paranormal researcher) who was allegedly made privy to a secret government project within the Department of Defense. The project began in the 1950's as research into remote viewing and the military applications of psychic powers, and ended in the conclusion that such powers - including extensive contacts with entities claiming to be aliens from outer space - were in fact demonic in origin.

As Nick described to me when interviewing for this book, the group (Collins Elite) was afraid to publicize these findings as it could cause massive social upheaval and unrest - i.e., an official government study that concluded that demons are real, and are behind the UFO phenomena for the purposes of deceiving mankind. This would obviously equate to government proof ( i.e., an endorsement) that the Judeo-Christian and Biblical worldview(s) are correct, and perhaps lead to no little end-times hysteria, as well as mass conversions to Christianity.

Throughout Africa -- mainly in Christian countries -- vast numbers of children have been abandoned by their parents, or worse, often maimed or tortured, on suspicion of being "witches."

The witch hunts aren't just a resurgence of indigenous beliefs.  They are part of a new and rapidly growing worldwide religious movement within the Pentecostal/charismatic branch of Christianity.

Aggressive crusades against alleged malevolent "witches" are encouraged by the "spiritual warfare" doctrines of some major leaders of one of the world's fastest-growing international religious movements, the "apostolic and prophetic" wing of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity.

by Eleanor J. Bader
from On The Issues Magazine

Inside insular religious communities in the U.S. women are quietly, and sometimes covertly, rolling back limitations on women's equal participation in society, setting examples for their offspring and inspiring change at a local level.

Religiously observant women in Muslim and Orthodox Jewish communities are becoming engines of small business. Their reasoning? Working for oneself allows far more flexibility than a typical nine-to-five position, making it easier to juggle religious piety with making a living.

As AllAfrica.com reports, the Ugandan government has introduced an expansion of proposed legislation would outlaw wide swaths of Western art, culture, literature and media within the country, currently under international criticism for a draconian law looming before Uganda's parliament that would outlaw homosexuality and even make it punishable by execution. As AllAfrica describes,

The Government has expanded the anti-pornography law beyond obscene publications to include obscene broadcasting, stage plays, music, art, fashion, motion pictures and audio recording.

The proposed law also introduces a punishment of up to 15 years in prison...

[Ethics minister Dr. Nsaba] Buturo said a committee would be created to collect and destroy existing pornographic objects, educate the public on the dangers of pornography and promote rehabilitation of individuals affected by pornography.

[...]

According to Buturo, the proposed law includes any action that depicts unclothed or under-clothed parts of a human body such as breasts, thighs, buttocks or genitalia. It also includes actions that depict or describe sexual intercourse or any behaviour that is usually associated with sexual intercourse or sexual stimulation.

On January 21, 2001, Jack Hayford gave a closing prayer at George W. Bush's first inaugural prayer service, at the National Cathedral.  

In 2003, AP News ran a story (see full story, below) about the growing (and quite controversial) "spiritual warfare" movement that includes an emphasis on exorcism. One of the most enthusiastic leaders of the new tendency has been Jack Hayford, who over the last two decades has launched a miracle healing and "do-it-yourself exorcism" franchise from his Van Nuys, CA megachurch.

It gets worse.

Galileo Was Wrong, The Church Was Right - that's the sensationalistic heading for the 1st Annual Catholic Conference on Geocentrism.

Geocentrism is the claim that the Sun revolves around the Earth, not vice-versa. From the cast of speakers at this event, I don't get the sense that the geocentric movement is growing, but with young evangelical Christian auteurs making short films about God beaming product-safety alerts directly into the heads of Christian housewives, who knows?

Below is my February 16, 2007 Talk To Action story, Copernicus Was Wrong : Reconstructionism & "The Flat Earth Temptation", in its entirety.    

I was distressed to see Jon Stewart tar Rev. Jeremiah Wright with the same brush as Terry Jones and Fred Phelps.

(Apologies to readers. I'm still trying to get the hang of this... I haven't figured out how to insert links - which makes for poor legibility. Soz.) 

I just got an official news bulletin... Jones is calling off the "Koran Burning", and according to the bulletin it's because he hopes that the "mosque" will not be built near the WTC site.

Well, it appears that he's painted himself into a corner, and will be going through with his Koran-burning even though everyone from the President down has tried to get him to stop.

Now I read of an "evangelist" preaching against Muslims near the Twin Towers site. (SIGH!!!)

We are delighted to welcome Rev. Carlton Veazey's return as as a guest front pager. He is the longtime President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. -- FC

The exclusionary values of the Glenn Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial - on the 47th anniversary of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech - are insulting to Americans of all races and religions who have worked for equality, unity, and inclusion. They are contrary to Dr. King's ideals of justice, freedom, and respect for the dignity of all people. But there's still more - the rally will include an offensive and harmful anti-woman anti-choice message.

This week, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) brought together leading African American clergy, civil rights activists and women's health experts to expose this little-noticed aspect of the Beck event - the misuse of the legacy of the civil rights movement to undermine African American women's reproductive rights. Alveda King figures prominently in this effort - with her ludicrous charges of abortion as "black genocide" and her leadership of something called "Freedom Rides for the Unborn."

Hundreds of people took part in rival protests over plans for an Islamic centre near Ground Zero in New York. Police kept the banner-waving groups apart, although there were no reports of violence between supporters and opponents of the scheme. Opponents chanted "No mosque, no way" as supporters responded with "Say no to racist fear". Developers plan to convert an old building into a 13-storey Islamic community centre and mosque. Feelings ran high during Sunday's protests in Manhattan, close to Ground Zero. There were face-to-face confrontations as demonstrators shouted at each other across the barricades, the Associated Press reported. Opponents want the centre to be moved further from the site where more than 2,700 people were killed in the September 11 terror attacks.